I thought that I would do a short write up, on something which has been playing on my mind. I believe that this post will be of particular benefit to females who come into contact with children on a regular basis. For example individuals such as mothers, Sunday school teachers, child minders, older siblings etc. I say this because I believe that women, especially mothers, have a big influence over their child’s/children’s lives. I have no intention of creating this post to be a scare tactic, but rather to warn individuals to be mindful of what the young ones within their care are watching.

You may be wondering why I feel that females have such a big influence over children’s lives, so I’d like us to look to the word of God concerning this matter (this does not mean that a man does not have a vital role to play in a child’s life. I firmly believe that both parents have equally crucial roles to play, when raising a child). So we all know Proverbs 31 as a scripture relating to how a godly wife should carry herself and what her character should look like, but have you ever took the time to read and meditate on the former part of chapter 31? Here we see King Lemuel reciting words of wisdom, which were told to him by his mother. Proverbs 31:1 says ‘The sayings of King Lemuel, an inspired utterance his mother taught him’. So we can see his mothers wise words inspired him, and also stuck with him throughout his life. They were principles which he could use to live a life full of purpose and obedience towards God. We also see that his mother’s words of wisdom had a part to play in the way he treated others. We must remember that the way we bring up our children does not only affect us, our children can either be a source of blessing or pain to those around them, e.g. people in their local community. An example of this is Proverbs 31:4-5“It is not for kings, O Lemuel– not for kings to drink wine, not for rulers to crave beer, lest they drink and forget what the law decrees, and deprive all the oppressed of their rights”. From this scripture I gather that because of Lemuel’s mother’s words of advice, Lemuel would have been a king who ruled his people fairly, and would not deny the innocent justice. Overall I’d say that Proverbs 31 shows us that being a virtuous woman also includes being a wise mother, who has the ability to influence her child in a godly manner.

We also have the history of the kings of Israel and Judah, which show us that a mother/grandmother can either have a positive or negative influence on her child’s life. 2 Chronicles 15:16 depicts the events of King Asa deposing his own grandmother Maacah, because she made a repulsive image (idol), in order for people to worship. Maacah setting up an Asherah pole could have lead the children of Israel to once again turn from God by committing idol worship, which would break Gods heart. But we see that King Asa did not let his grandmother’s sin, influence the way in which he ruled his people, or his obedience towards Gods word.

Now I believe some of us know of a woman called Bathsheba, but I shall just give you a brief synopsis about who she is. She was the woman whom King David committed adultery with, and later became the mother of a man we know as King Solomon. 1 Kings 2:19 states ‘When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the King stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king’s mother, and she sat down at his right hand’. Now throughout the bible there is a great significance placed on sitting on the right hand of someone important. I’m sure many of us have come across several verses which speak of sitting at Gods right hand. Sitting at the right hand of someone important, is to sit in a position of honour, authority, and rulership. I personally believe that for King Solomon to put his mother in such a position, he would have had to have great trust in her, and her wisdom. Bathsheba would have had the ability to influence her son Solomon greatly. She would have probably been one of the people who constantly give King Solomon counsel. And we all know King Solomon was the wisest King to ever live 1 Kings 4:29-32, and I believe that his mother’s character would have had some part to play, in his development of good character. This is apart from God greatly blessing King Solomon, as God is the one who gives wisdom. Now there are many more examples of a mothers/grandmothers influence over her offspring’s life in the bible, for example Queen Athaliah, but I don’t want to waffle on. I would like to try and keep this post as short as possible *hands over face*, so I don’t overload your brains with too much information. So I may look into creating a follow up post on a mothers influence, God willing.

So now I shall go onto the whole reason I wrote this post… CARTOONS!!! So one day I flicked through some kiddies TV channels as I usually do, and ended up utterly shocked, and surprised at several demons coming out of a possessed cartoon character. But NO it didn’t stop there, this scene was shortly followed by another scene portraying another character being taken over by a demon, and the demon manifesting itself within the character by changing the characters voice. ALARM BELLS started ringing in my head, this is not at all healthy for a child (or adult) to watch, as such things do not bring glory to God. Reason being because such programmes depict witchcraft and black magic, as something fun and exciting. They paint it out to be like an adventure which kids should desire to discover and experience. They are practically glorifying witchcraft. The really sad and unfortunate thing is that there are many cartoon/children’s TV series which glorify witchcraft, and the bible firmly warns us against dabbling/involving ourselves in witchcraft. Leviticus 19:31 “Do not turn to mediums or necromancers; do not seek them out, and so make yourselves unclean by them, I am the Lord your God”.

I will now go through a few of the many reasons of why I believe as mothers, sisters, aunties and teachers, we should keep an eye out on what our children are watching.

Things to watch out for when watching cartoons.

Sexual innuendos.

The mocking of Christ Jesus.

Distortion of Gods handiwork for example the misrepresentation of human beings i.e. ape like humans.

Witchcraft/Black magic etc etc etc.

Why we should watch out for such things?

Scary images such as cartoons which illustrate a lot of gore, and images of monsters, and aliens can instil fear within children.

The enemy can use the TV to open a door within our children’s lives, e.g. if a child is being constantly exposed to things of a sexual nature, the door of lust can be open. What we allow our eyes to be entertained with can have a big impact on our life. Matthew 6:22-23 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness”.

If a child is persistently bombarded with subtle or explicit images of witchcraft, they can easily come to the conclusion that witchcraft/black magic is ok or normal.

And one of my biggest concerns is that children IMMITATE, this is how they learn! So if all they see on TV are actions which do not bring God glory, there is a strong tendency that they will act in ways which do not bring God glory.

Sorry for the rant but I believe it was necessary to share, even if it benefits one family, I know and believe it is worth sharing. I know that in this day and age it has become increasingly hard to monitor what young children are exposed to, as there is evil everywhere, but we have a powerful weapon. PRAYER. Also never feel ashamed to ask the Holy Spirit for guidance on how to raise your children in a godly way.

Here is just a short list I thought I would write up on, about how we can obtain beauty from within, which will radiate brightly on the outside. Having a beautiful authentic character makes you a beautiful person. The sad thing about today is that society focuses soooo much on appearance it is ridiculous. I mean it is wonderful to look presentable, but there are just the extremes of people feeling so uncomfortable about how they look, that they see it as necessary to go under the knife. Do not get me wrong I have nothing against make-up in itself, as using make-up is a great way of enhancing ones already beautiful features. There is also absolutely nothing wrong with looking after your body and health, as the bible says your body is the temple of the Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19), I myself do love a hard long work out session at the gym. Also Ecclesiastes 11: 9-10 says ‘Young people it’s wonderful to be young! Enjoy every minute of it. Do everything you want to do take it all in. But remember that you must give an account to God for everything you do. So refuse to worry, and keep your body healthy’. So yeah its good to be healthy, but do not idolize your body, or allow issues concerning image cause you to be drawn away from God, leading you to sin.

I personally feel that there is so much pressure on women to maintain a flawless appearance, and to never get caught slipping. It makes me so upset that so many young girls and women are deceived into believing that the only way to be noticed by people is to pretty much expose their whole body and wear lots of makeup. This was a lie of the devil I once believed. Well let me tell you curves start to sag, stretch marks start to appear here and there, wrinkles appear, BUT something that never ages is your character. Your character is what you will be remembered for, and how you treated people, NOT your bra size or how big your butt was. Also what happens if so called beauty is taken away from you due to ill health, how would you feel then? There are many people out there who suffer from alopecia or severe skin burns, yet they still stand with great God confidence. This is because they understand that beauty is waaayyyy more than appearance. Cancer may rob you of your hair, but cancer cannot take away your beautiful character. As Proverbs 31:30 says ‘…Beauty fades. But a woman who has respect for the Lord is to be praised’. Anyway enough of me ranting and onto the list.

For beautiful eyes

Look onto the Lord, do not lose sight of His word, trust in Him, and FIX YOUR EYES ON HIM!!! (Psalm 141:8).

For gentle feet

Walk along the narrow path of righteousness, even though it may not be easy just remember that the gateway to life is narrow and the road is difficult (Matthew 7:14). Don’t deviate a bit to the right or the left, turn your feet away from evil (Proverbs 4:27). One of my favorite verses regarding beautiful feet in particular is Isaiah 52:7 which states, ‘How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” So go ahead and do what God has commissioned us His children to do, let us all spread the gospel.

For tender lips

Ensure that the words which come out of your mouth build people up, and do not bring individuals down. And remember, keep on using those lips to praise our mighty awesome God (Psalm 63:3).

For glowing skin and hair

Don’t place your identity in the colour of your skin, or the type of your hair you have, you are sooooo much more than that, you’re a child of God! (Romans 8:14). Also do not obsess over your hair or skin, do not make them an idol in your life.

For a stunning body

Clothe yourself with God confidence and remember you don’t need to be practically naked to look good. Step away from sexual temptation for your body is the Lords temple (1 Corinthians 6:19). Let your spirit man have dominion over your flesh, and let the Holy Spirit be the guide of your life.

Just remember YOU ARE FEARFULLY AND WONDERFULLY MADE CHICKA’S (Psalm 139:14).